7044. (a) This chapter does not apply to any of the following:
(1) An owner who builds or improves a structure on his or her
property, provided that both of the following conditions are met:
(A) None of the improvements are intended or offered for sale.
(B) The property owner personally performs all of the work or any
work not performed by the owner is performed by the owner's employees
with wages as their sole compensation.
(2) An owner who builds or improves a structure on his or her
property, provided that both of the following conditions are met:
(A) The owner directly contracts with licensees who are duly
licensed to contract for the work of the respective trades involved
in completing the project.
(B) For projects involving single-family residential structures,
no more than four of these structures are intended or offered for
sale in a calendar year. This subparagraph shall not apply if the
owner contracts with a general contractor for the construction.
(3) A homeowner improving his or her principal place of residence
or appurtenances thereto, provided that all of the following
conditions exist:
(A) The work is performed prior to sale.
(B) The homeowner has actually resided in the residence for the 12
months prior to completion of the work.
(C) The homeowner has not availed himself or herself of the
exemption in this paragraph on more than two structures more than
once during any three-year period.
(b) In all actions brought under this chapter, both of the
following shall apply:
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), proof of the sale or
offering for sale of a structure by or for the owner-builder within
one year after completion of the structure constitutes a rebuttable
presumption affecting the burden of proof that the structure was
undertaken for purposes of sale.
(2) Proof of the sale or offering for sale of five or more
structures by the owner-builder within one year after completion
constitutes a conclusive presumption that the structures were
undertaken for purposes of sale.